Ever wondered if there was a way to improve your indoor air purification using natural decorative plants? Sansevierias, an indoor snake plant, is one of the best plants I have recently discovered to have the ability to purify the air by removing airborne toxins and give off oxygen.
Sansevierias are indoor snake plants that work hard for your bedroom by purifying and releasing much-needed fresh oxygen daily and at night while you sleep.
Nonetheless, do not expect a single indoor plant to purify your entire bedroom– but if you strategically position them around the home, you can rest assured that you will enjoy a whiff of fresh air in their immediate areas.
Sansevieria plant or popularly known as the Snake plant, hails from the Lily family. These plants last long, which is a characteristic that makes them an excellent choice for apartment dwellers who have limited success when it comes to plants due to lighting issues. This is a great choice for such people.
This plant comes on top of the list as number one on the most tolerant of all decorative plants to survive harsh and unsuitable conditions in which they are grown, any amount of abuse and lack of attention and care a plant would get.
You have to be really sure and determine if you want to kill this plant. This plant is such a classic and has a sword-like foliage design. It is an excellent choice for those people not serious in taking care of their plants, and it is a fantastic air purification plant for the indoor environment.
This plant is one of the most popular and hardy houseplant species. It has a masterpiece design as if it has stiff leaves, which range from six inches to 8 inches tall, although this depends on the variety.
Snake plants are widely known for their green banded leaves, while the other variety, which is known as Mother in Law’s Tongue, has a typically yellow border. Many people might not be fond of the Snake plant because of its strong, bold look and tough, pointed leaves. If you prefer plants with a soft touch feel, this is definitely not your type of a plant.
Their modern, edgy feel also makes them easy to take care of. These evergreen perennials really live long which is rare for a houseplant.
You can find them in different sizes, either tall or short, and they have round, flat or concave leaves and variegated with dark green, silver, light green, yellow, chartreuse or white.
The snake plant can go to an average of 8″ to 7″ high and they can be potted in 4,6,8,10, 12 and 14″ grow pots. These plants are used as tabletop and narrow floor plants plus in gardens and kokedama. Sansevierias usually grow slowly and spread by underground stems, known as rhizomes that come as new. They usually grow faster in strong light and slow in low light.
How to care for Sansevierias
Water
Sansevierias do not need too much watering as if you overdo it in terms of watering it might cause root rot. Before watering, always make sure that the soil is almost completely dry.
The interval you can use to water these plants is every 2 to 8 weeks. This watering schedule depends on your home environment, type of soil mix and pot size. Always make sure that there is not any water build-up at the center of the leaves where they form a cup because this will make your plant mushy and it might rot. If you don’t usually stay home for a week or so, this is the type of plant as it perseveres.
Light
The snake plant naturally prefers medium light, but they can tolerate both high light and low light, how fantastic is that!
It has to be noted that darker leafed species and varieties do better in low light conditions, and they are the ones recommended that you buy as the brighter variegations usually become less intense and patterned in low light. Just don’t get too comfortable, hot sun might burn them.
Air Circulation
These plants really persevere many harsh conditions and do not mind dry or stale air in our homes and offices. They can even do well in bathrooms where the humidity tends to be higher, which just proves how versatile these plants are.
Temperature
The snake plant can do well under various temperatures in our homes. Your home temperature is just fine for the Sansevierias plant although just make sure to keep them away from cold drafts and heating or air conditioning vents. If your Sansevieria plant is outdoors for summer which will tell you that they can’t withstand frost or snow, so it’s wise to get them inside before low temperatures are reached.
Pests
The Sansevieria plant is highly resistant to pests, but if exposed to poor conditions, they can be vulnerable to mealybugs and/or spider mites.
Prevention is better than cure; hence it’s best if you take care of this pest problem because these pests multiply rapidly. They travel from one houseplant to another like nobody’s business.
Propagation
If you have yourself a Snake plant, then there may be no need to purchase another one as these plants are easy to propagate. If you are growing them in a garden, you will actually see them propagating on their own as they spread underground easily through their underground stems referred to as rhizomes. Division in a houseplant followed by leaf cuttings is termed one of the easiest ways to propagate.
Soil
These plants do not require too much when it comes to nutrients. A fast and well-draining soil is perfect as these plants are prone to root rot if not in suitable soil.
Fertilizer
These plants do not usually require fertilizer but can still grow perfectly, but you can still feed them every spring, topping worm compost and compost.
If you like to apply fertilizer, then you can use an organic all-purpose houseplant food. Do not fertilize these plants in late fall or winter because it is this time that they rest, and it’s not wise to fertilize a houseplant that is bone dry or soaking wet.
Repotting
These plants do not need you to hurry in repotting them as they actually thrive when pot bound, and they can break their pots as the rhizomes and roots are tough.
Toxicity
The snake plant is mildly toxic to cats and dogs. The good part is their leaves are pretty tough, and they are usually not appealing to pets.
Flowers
They flower, yes, but they take very long to sprout when they are being grown indoors, and them producing flowers while being grown indoors is kind of very rare. Their flowers are whitish to greenish in appearance and the smell is just amazing.
7 benefits that you need to know about the Sansevieria plant
The questions you might have are why is this plant everywhere and why are they so popular? The answer is straightforward, they can withstand many harsh conditions, they are one of the hardest plants to kill, and they easily grow and do not need much care.
The most common names used for this plant are the Snake plant and Mother in law tongue when it comes to the varieties of Sansevierias on the market. Here are the benefits of the snake plant
Low light tolerant
These plants thrive in all kinds of light provided, be it low light, bright indirect of high light conditions.
They usually thrive in medium light but can also do well in darker areas of your home and office. They flourish in rooms with small north and east-facing windows or a few feet away from South and west-facing window.
Rooms that usually are deprived of great windows are great for snake plants. If the windows are big and bright, there are usually some sort of window coverings to be used for privacy purposes. Some bathrooms have small windows and basements that receive low levels of light, now these bathrooms are ideal locations for snake plants.
All in all, make sure to keep this plant away from direct sunlight, as direct sunlight can burn your plant.
Drought tolerant
These Sansevierias require very little lighting. Some people usually take two weeks without watering these plants and in winter and humid environments, one can even take up to 6 weeks without watering them. These plants are very drought tolerant, and research shows that the number one cause of death for this plant is overwatering them.
A good drainage system is of great importance in this plant with the aim of avoiding rhizomes or root rot. Cactus soil mixed with regular potting soil for proper drainage is greatly recommended. Add an acceptable layer of draining rocks if your pot lacks draining holes.
Air purifier
These plants are one of the best air purifiers there is.
NASA approves this claim, and this was made a fact in a study where this plant was demonstrated to remove toxins from the air like benzene, formaldehyde, xylene and trichloroethylene. In return from cleaning the air, these plants provide higher levels of humidity and fresh oxygen to any room. This is a great plant that is used to clean stale bedrooms.
Tolerant to a wide variety of humidity conditions
These plants thrive in different humidity conditions. This is why they prevail in both humid environments such as bathrooms and drier environments such as offices.
Just make sure to regulate watering based on the environment’s humidity levels and always provide proper drainage to the roots. When this plant is in humid areas, you might need to water less and make sure to have extra drainage to avoid excessive stagnant moisture around the roots. When in dried areas, you can water more often but not more than 2 weeks.
Easy to propagate
This plant species is extremely easy to propagate. When the plant is small, the easier it is to propagate.
You can do the propagation in two separate ways, namely: leaf cut and offset cut. You can just cut the offsets as close as possible to the original stems in terms of the offset method. Use a clean, sharp knife to cut off the fresh offsets as close as possible to the mother plant. This is done this way so that the offset already has an initial tiny root attached to it.
The offsets can be moved from water jars to little pot to develop their rhizomes further and create more offsets. The little offset is then placed directly into the pot with soil and sealed into a glass jar. It will definitely grow fast.
Highly pest-resistant
Pests problems are not that huge in houseplants unless at some point you had placed your houseplant outside in summer. The Sansevierias are highly resistant to pests, but the pests that can attack these snake plants are the mealybugs and spider mites. This only occurs when you have left your snake plant in very poor conditions.
Highly symbolic
After doing a bit of deep digging, it was found that the Snake plant was first cultivated in the republic of China and was treasured by growers back then for its symbolism. In addition to that, it was believed that eight immortals granted their virtues of longevity, prosperity, intelligence, beauty, art, health, and strength to the people who cared for this plant. So many reasons for you to take care of this plant.
Conclusion
These are the most resilient and hard-to-kill plants you will ever come across—the ideal plant for forgetful gardeners and people still wishing to have houseplants.
This plant comes on top of the list as number one on the most tolerant of all decorative plants to survive harsh and unsuitable conditions in which they are grown, any amount of abuse and lack of attention and care a plant would get. These plants do not require much in terms of watering, lighting, temperature, and many other requirements.
Just to mention a few things Sansevierias do not need too much watering as if you overdo it in terms of watering, it might cause root rot, The snake plant naturally prefers medium light but can tolerate both high and low light. The snake plant can do well under various temperatures in our homes.
Your home temperature is just fine for the Sansevierias plant although just make sure to keep them away from cold drafts and heating or air conditioning vents. These are just some of the many ways to take care of the plant. All in all, this is a must-have tropical indoor house plant.
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